http://truthandsoulinc.com/ee/index.php en moly@truthandsoulinc.com Copyright 2008 2008-05-27T16:38:00-05:00 http://www.truthandsoulinc.com/index.php/indieSoulful/gavin_degraw_stripped/ http://www.truthandsoulinc.com/index.php/ indieSoulful/gavin_degraw_stripped/#When:16:38:00Z Here's one you may already be aware of, but we figured it's such a great classic bound to stand the test of time we really wanted to mention it anyway for those who haven't: Gavin DeGraw's Chariot: Stripped. We feel like there's a big problem pervading the music--specifically recording--industry nowadays: overproduction. Take anything you hear on the radio today (preferably a chart-topper) and compare it to any music recording made between the 1930s and 1970s (some might even argue up until the 80s) and you'll start to appreciate a palpable difference: contemporary recordings tend to lack a little bit of sumpin'-sumpin' that could be called presence. After a million takes of the same track and isolating all the musicians to record their parts separately from each other, you can't help but notice that there may be something that ends up getting sacrificed in the process that no technology--no matter how cool, how slick, how bleeding edge--can make up for. It's that certain quality, that incredible, magical energy that ends up happening when everything and everyone is focussed on being in the moment because you know you gotta get everything right in one take. (Well, that's how musicians seemed to do it back in the day but unfortunately nowadays everyone seems to confuse practice sessions with recording sessions. But eh, what's a music lover to do but look a little bit a harder for quality music?) Now imagine if you could take the same musician with the same songs and record them in the two different aforementioned ways: we'd bet you'd notice a huge difference. This is exactly what Gavin DeGraw has done with the mediocre Chariot and the vastly superior (at least that's how T&S feels) Chariot: Stripped, with the former produced (and yes, very much so "produced") like most records are today and the latter recorded as a live studio session. We'll admit it: T&S wasn't a huge fan of Gavin DeGraw when he first hit radio and TV airwaves and consequently over-saturated ears all across America. After about the thousand-eighty-second time we heard him wailing "I don't wanna be anything other than..." over the tinny speakers at the corner gas station we were kinda like, "Yeah, uh, I don't wanna hear this anymore..." But then, a glimmer of hope: a friend of ours introduced us to Gavin's Chariot: Stripped and we gave him a second try. After all the layers and layers of instrumentation are stripped down to a simple ensemble of acoustic guitar, drums, bass (sounds like an upright), and of course, Gavin on the piano and vocals, something really starts to shine through: you notice how well-crafted the songs really are, and Gavin's incredibly raw, emotional delivery of them are finally unobstructed by all the fanciness that so unfortunately got in the way before. Make sure to check out Gavin's amazing cover of an already amazing song by a previous feature on indie.soulful: "Change is Gonna Come" by the legendary Sam Cooke. 2008-05-27T16:38:00-05:00 http://www.truthandsoulinc.com/index.php/indieSoulful/jamie_lidell_is_jim/ http://www.truthandsoulinc.com/index.php/ indieSoulful/jamie_lidell_is_jim/#When:01:06:00Z British Soul: Part One. Jamie Lidell will be the first to be featured in our British Soul series here on indie.soulful featuring the best of Soul music coming from our brothers & sisters from across the pond. Is it just us, or is there really some sort of movement of Contemporary Interpretation of Classic American Soul Music going on lately? And which, curiously enough, feels like it's coming more often from British artists these days. But regardless of where they come from, a long list of contemporary musicians are indeed bringing back that Good Old Soul. And we're certainly grateful for that. Stay tuned to indie.soulful for more of that Goodness. We present to you our latest sonic obsession: Jamie Lidell -- and let's get one thing straight here, ladies & gents: he is one crazy mofo. Combining a classic American Soul sensibility, an electronic music production ethic, and a voice coming from the depths of the universe, Jamie started his official music career producing freaky electronic tracks like this: But these days he seems to be more content simply servin' up summa that Good Old Soul: We here are indie.soulful are certainly grateful for the transition, though we love that one can still here Jamie's electronic roots in his music -- it's even evident on his latest album, Jim, arguably the most classically soulful one to date. If soul music ever had to get its freakydeaky on, we're sure it would sound exactly like Jamie Lidell. 2008-05-20T01:06:00-05:00 http://www.truthandsoulinc.com/index.php/indieSoulful/across_the_universe/ http://www.truthandsoulinc.com/index.php/ indieSoulful/across_the_universe/#When:15:00:00Z Okay, we know, we know: a movie musical based on the songs of the Beatles, one of the most popular bands in all of pop culture history, is, to say the least, so far from anything even resembling indie, but trust us, the soulful factor far exceeds our standards that we just had to let y'all know about it (as if you didn't already know). And yes, it was everything T&S had hoped for and more: Each and every one of the cast members gave stellar performances, the visuals beautifully trippy, and the music, of course, classic. The cast reflected such a diversity in vocal talent that was really remarkable: Jim Sturgess' (Jude) voice pulls at the heartstrings throughout the entire film, Dana Fuchs (Sadie) channels Janis Joplin with an unmatched raspy earthiness, Martin Luther (JoJo) sings with such full-bodied warmth, easily the most soulful voice of the cast. It was hard not to be skeptical of Joe Anderson (Max) at first, but as the movie progresses, Joe's character and performance progresses from kind-of-shallow-party-boy-who-seeks-nothing-but-fun (and a vocal performance that reflects that) to a young-man-war-veteran-who-plays-key-role-in-concluding-the-story (and a vocal performance that reflects that!). Make sure to check out our favorite picks from the soundtrack below. 2007-09-26T15:00:00-05:00 http://www.truthandsoulinc.com/index.php/indieSoulful/rose_cousins/ http://www.truthandsoulinc.com/index.php/ indieSoulful/rose_cousins/#When:08:27:00Z With sweet vocals and heartfelt lyrics, Rose Cousins' brand of folk is the perfect sountrack to accompany peppermint-tea infused quiet nights introspecting on life. Two standout tracks are "Fair Island," an upbeat number celebrating the pride of hailing from a land surrounded by nothing but coasts (something T&S can relate to) and "Good Enough," a heartbreaking, melancholy tune posing a question we all may have asked ourselves in the midst of the most vulnerable parts of relationships. folky 2007-08-10T08:27:00-05:00 http://www.truthandsoulinc.com/index.php/indieSoulful/dublin_gospel_choir/ http://www.truthandsoulinc.com/index.php/ indieSoulful/dublin_gospel_choir/#When:05:36:00Z We always knew the Irish had soul, but we never knew they could belt it out like this. Brothers and sisters, get ready for the Dublin Gospel Choir. Of particular note are their covers of U2's "I Still Haven't Found What I'm Looking For" (they make it sound like it belongs at church) and of Blackstreet's (yes, the very same Blackstreet you are thinking of) "No Diggity." We know what you're thinking: "No Diggity? By a gospel choir?!" Unfortunately the 30-second preview we give you below doesn't let you listen to the good parts of the song, but trust us, it's worth the purchase at iTunes. 2007-08-04T05:36:00-05:00 http://www.truthandsoulinc.com/index.php/indieSoulful/julian_velard/ http://www.truthandsoulinc.com/index.php/ indieSoulful/julian_velard/#When:04:38:00Z He may look young, but his voice is like your favorite broken-in leather jacket. You'll know what we mean when you hear it. His lyrics are just sharp, like a well dressed Englishman, except that his last name is French. Did we mention he did some time in Paris as a street sweeper? Well, Julian, we're glad you're making music full-time now: we're sure you're better at pressing keys on the piano than at operating the street-sweeper-machiner-thingamajig. In French. 2007-07-27T04:38:00-05:00 http://www.truthandsoulinc.com/index.php/indieSoulful/sam_cooke_the_soul_stirrers/ http://www.truthandsoulinc.com/index.php/ indieSoulful/sam_cooke_the_soul_stirrers/#When:07:19:00Z Sam Cooke is often credited as being the "Father of Soul," and with indie.soulful being from Truth & Soul and all...we thought the Sam Cooke & Soul Stirrers feature would inevitably come at some point. As gospel was the precursor to soul, the Soul Stirrers layed the ground work for the popularity Sam Cooke would experience later in his career breaking into the mainstream as a solo soul artist. But the stuff that Sam did with the Soul Stirrers far exceeds the depth and the intensity of anything he did as a mainstream act. You will not find anything matching the fervor, the devotion, and the positively uplifiting spirit that you will find in Sam Cook & the Soul Stirrers. Trust us. 2007-07-18T07:19:00-05:00 http://www.truthandsoulinc.com/index.php/indieSoulful/zac_clark/ http://www.truthandsoulinc.com/index.php/ indieSoulful/zac_clark/#When:23:15:00Z Zac almost sounds like an acoustic pop-punk-rocker who's been subjected to make music with anything but guitars. You may then be tempted to file him under "emo" but Zac plays with an uplifting energy that leaves you feeling more like rays of sunshine than razor blades. His voice is smooth, his songwriting solid & dynamic, and his sound is actually really catchy without sounding like the overly processed pop-punk that saturated radio and MTV in 2003-04. You can stream his EP "Ellipsis" from CD Baby here. T&S's favorite track is "On My Way" (the first one). Check it out! 2007-07-14T23:15:00-05:00 http://www.truthandsoulinc.com/index.php/indieSoulful/jason_myles_goss/ http://www.truthandsoulinc.com/index.php/ indieSoulful/jason_myles_goss/#When:17:13:00Z Sometimes T&S comes across a musical act that we totally fall in love with. Jason Myles Goss is definitely one of them. Then we wonder why some of the people we like haven't blown up yet. Well, we've decided that a blown-up act is definitely not a good thing. We'd prefer musical notes over blood and gore any day of the week. But seriously, Jason's an incredibly talented lyricist, songwriter, and performer. See him live; his charisma is endearing and enchanting. Pay attention to his lyrics; they evoke imagery of things like angels who fly by your window, wet city streets after the rain on a cool night, and the introspective solitude of being awake at 4am. Oh, and listen to his craft; through it, you'll soon begin to see the perfection in the raggedy edges of life. A son of Boston who has un/fortunately relocated to Brooklyn, Jason still plays a lot in and around our fair city. Check out his site to catch his next show! folky, male, newEngland, boston 2007-07-08T17:13:00-05:00 http://www.truthandsoulinc.com/index.php/indieSoulful/ryan_montbleau_band/ http://www.truthandsoulinc.com/index.php/ indieSoulful/ryan_montbleau_band/#When:00:56:00Z Yes! They're a bunch of talented local homeboys. Your first guess at Ryan Montbleau might be another Dave Mathews rip-off. After all, they both have the same band name structure ("The Name-of-Lead-Singer Band") and some guy who plays some stringed instrument...violin...viola...something-or-other. But listen, and you'll hear the difference. Their sound is kind of folky with a dash of soul (a requirement by T&S standards), which is mostly attributed to Ryan's honey-smooth vocals. We've provided some live tracks for you courtesy of the immensely rich Internet Archive. folky, newEngland, boston 2007-06-28T00:56:00-05:00